1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to golf clubs and, more specifically, to metal golf club heads.
Golf clubs are generally of three different types, namely, drivers, irons and putters. In the past, drivers had heads made of wood which resulted in referring to these clubs simply as "woods." Since wood has a generally shorter useful life, particularly when used as a golf club head, then other stronger materials, such as metal, so-called "metal woods" have become prevalent in golf.
Metal golf club heads are typically cast as a thin, hollow shell. Generally investment casting or lost wax casting processes are employed. A number of golf club heads have been devised where a substantial portion of the thin shell is of one piece and an insert, such as a sole plate, face plate or weight, is mounted over an opening formed in the shell during the casting process to completely close the opening in the shell.
In certain club head designs, the hollow shell is filled with a foam or other plastic material. In one specific construction, the shell is formed as an open top receptacle having a front striking face, an opposed rear wall, opposed sidewalls that extend between the rearwall and the front striking face, and a bottom wall or sole. A plastic insert is molded or inserted into the cavity formed between the sidewalls, the rearwall, the front striking face, and the sole forms the top portion of the club head. However, it has been found that the plastic insert frequently decouples from the shell of the club head.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a metal golf club head which has increased strength and rigidity over previously devised metal golf club heads. It would be desirable to provide a metal golf club head with increased strength which can be easily cast as a one piece structure.